Identifying sound sources for immersive language learning in Second Life (SL)
Playable piano scores in SL
Introduction
Immersive online experiences involve many forms of sensory input, which include visual, audio, touch/feel and kinaesthetic. These can be used to enhance the learning experience through learning styles, engage the learner more fully and to encourage interaction with the environment.
Sound is an essential part of language learning in traditional or distance learning but virtual worlds, such as Second Life, offer new opportunities for using sound for language teaching. This learning object forms part of a set on using sound in language learning in SL.
Objectives
* To think about the role of sound in your face-to-face language teaching.
* To understand how ambient sounds play a role in immersive experiences for language learning.
* To understand which types of sound are available in Second Life.
* To understand how sound can be used for language learning in Second Life.
Activity: Identifying existing sources of sound for use in Second Life
There are many existing sources of sound that can be used in Second Life to enhance your environment. You might wish to create a virtual city or role-play environment to engage your learners. Think about how sound in film or other games allows allows you to interact in new ways with their environment, for instance touch and feel in games.
Instruction
Imagine you are trying to create a garden in Second Life to encourage the vocabulary acquisition. What kind of audio resources would enhance learner interaction with the environment? Search in-world for examples of audio resources e.g. bird song samples, that already exist in Second Life, and make a list in the box below. Alternatively, create a Word document to save your answers.
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© Ann Jeffery/University of Southampton/Creative Commons